Buying a salvage car is often the best alternative to purchasing a new expensive vehicle. A salvage car’s cost is significantly lower, and sometimes you can find it in truly good condition. At Salvagebid, we work with IAA to give you lots of car buying options.
If you’re thinking about buying a salvage car from a major US auction, here are 4 good reasons to choose IAA.
1. Market veteran
IAA isn’t new on the salvage vehicle market. Established back in 1982 they now own over 150 auction centers in the US and Canada. During all this time, IAA has been collaborating with dealerships, rental car companies, fleet leasing companies, and insurance companies that deem about 5 million cars as total losses yearly. Many of those cars make their way directly to IAA auction yards.
2. About 80% of insurance vehicles
Vehicles in the US are typically insured. If a car was involved in a collision, the insurance company assigns an agent to evaluate the cost of repair when a claim is made.
If the repair costs exceed the actual cash value of the car, the car is considered a “total loss” and in many cases goes to an IAA auction yard. In some US states, however, the damage needs to exceed a certain percentage of a car’s value, usually between 50-80 %, depending on the insurance company and the state.
3. Huge inventory
Since IAA collaborates with a great number of establishments that recover damaged vehicles, they have the possibility of offering thousands of vehicles at attractive prices. Most vehicles are sold with title documents.
Many vehicles on IAA are easy to repair as they arrive at the auction yard with minor damage, such as dings from hail or scratched paint.
4. Clear information
At first glance, the abundance of information on IAA can look somewhat confusing: a lot of titles, loss types, damage types, and vehicle details. However, as soon as you learn to interpret all this information, your chances of buying the right vehicle will increase significantly.
Each vehicle listing on IAA contains:
- Vehicle information – stock #, VIN, loss type*, primary damage, title, start code, odometer, airbags, and wheel details.
- Vehicle description – body style, engine, transmission, driveline type, cylinders, fuel type, restraint system, exterior/interior color, place of manufacturing, vehicle class, model, and series.
- Sale information – auction date and time, vehicle location, lane/item #, actual cash value, and estimated repair cost.
- Bid information – current bid price and “Buy Now” price (if available).
* You can find out more about IAA vehicle loss types here.
Things to pay attention to
IAA has lots of rules that may seem complicated, so make sure to read our Rules and Policies for a clear understanding of the process. All IAA yards work differently, so vehicle pickup time and payment terms may differ from state to state. However, due to all those rules, the chances of buying a vehicle with unclear or obscured damage is minimized. Also, IAA fees are a bit higher than other auctions, especially late pickup charges.
Buy with Salvagebid
If you want to buy a vehicle on IAA without a dealer’s license, Salvagebid is at your service.
With Salvagebid, you can bid from the privacy of your home or office, on your schedule, on thousands of vehicles.
Salvagebid can also help facilitate the shipping of your vehicle across the US and worldwide. Signup with Salvagebid.com to win your first vehicle online!